The Little Athletics world can seem a bit daunting at first. There is always lots of people doing lots of things all over the track and trying to make sense of it can be hard.

 

You will find a quick guide to things below but the most important one is simply ask. All of our committee are easy to talk to and quiet approachable. We all started out once too and know exactly how you’re feeling.

 

Anyway here are my top tips;

 

1. Listen To Leo!

 

Our very own "Team Manager to the Stars of Tomorrow" Leo is your best contact on competition days. His job is to let everyone know when and where they need to be.

 

He stays up at the shelter for the most part and keeps an ear out for event announcements etc. He will then relay that info out to all the kids up at the club. For that reason we do suggest that you set yourselves up at our shelter so you can be kept up to date.

 

2. Be prepared.

 

Yes athletics is a summer sport but many of us old hands will come prepared for all weather.

 

Sunscreen, hats and sunglasses are just as important as jackets, windcheaters and a brolly. A chair or too is useful as well as there can be downtime between events.

 

Water is also a definite but some snacks to eat can help as well.

 

3. Get involved.

 

Unlike most kids sports Athletics is run pretty much entirely on volunteers. We don’t pay umpires and officials to turn up on game day and for that reason Athletics is one of the cheapest activities out there.

 

Of course that means we ALWAYS need people to help run the events and perform other roles each weekend.

 

As a club we have responsibilities to provide officials for High Jump each weekend. We also will generally have to supply one person to help out in the canteen for an hour. Lastly we will also have recording duties for track events for most weeks.

 

As a parent it is expected that you will help out with these. The jobs aren’t hard and we will skill anyone up who is interested to take on more and more responsibilities.

 

If everyone in the club helps out with these then it won’t be left to the same people all the time and everyone will have more fun.

 

I personally found getting out and helping with the events was the best way to get a better understanding of them all. This in turn helped me help my own children in these events.

 

That's it for starters but if you have anything else you need to know please just ask.